Billy Greene (Comic Series)
Billy Greene is a main character first encountered in Issue 10 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and is Hershel Greene's youngest son and the brother of Maggie, Shawn, Lacey, Arnold, and the twin sisters, Rachel and Susie. Unlike majority of his family, scurrilous and rebellious Billy survived all the way to the Prison's destruction with his father and sole surviving sister. He quickly became an important side character, great shot and one of the few motivations for Hershel to survive. Pre-Apocalypse Greene Family Farm Not much is known about Billy's life before or as the outbreak began, except that he worked on Hershel's farm as a farm hand. Post-Apocalypse Miles Behind Us Billy was depicted as a boy in his late teens with a brash, rebellious personality, commonly speaking out resulting in a verbal back-lashing from his father for his choice of words. Billy first encounters Rick and the others when Otis accidentally shoots Carl during a hunt in the woods, mistaking the boy for a zombie. Like most of his family during this first encounter, Billy never spoke on page and was seldom seen throughout the group's time at the Greene Family Farm. Safety Behind Bars Billy, along with everyone else at the farm, left for the prison with Rick and Dale in Dale's RV. Billy, Tyreese, Andrea, and Glenn go to clear the gym of walkers, but decide to bail when things get into strife. His rebellious side also surfaced when he joined the group attempting to clear out the gymnasium, without Hershel's prior knowledge. Billy is shown to be helpful with the chores, most often seen helping his father to attend the prison's garden. It is during this time that his younger sisters, Rachel and Susie, were found brutally decapitated in the barber shop, and when Billy finds out, he is deeply saddened by the loss of two more members of his family and in his sorrow blamed his father for their deaths, believing they would still be alive if Hershel had kept them at the farm. In response to these accusations Hershel begins to hit Billy, telling him to never talk back again. Despite this Billy was with his dad during Thomas' "execution" at the hands of his sister Maggie and again when Rick and others threw his body outside to the zombies swarming against the outer fences. Unlike Hershel, Billy seemed unable to handle the sight of Thomas's corpse being devoured by the undead and was seen walking away while Hershel stood and witnessed the event. Billy's ability with firearms has also surfaced during his time in the prison, first during the gym clean-up attempt and later when Dexter's attempted coup resulted in a flood of zombies from A-block getting into the prison yard, forcing him to take up his handgun. The Heart's Desire He has been acknowledged as the group's next best shot, after Andrea. For this he was selected to be among the group of better shooters that Rick tasked to go about the outermost fence to clear away the surrounding roamers as "special training". In Issue 39, Billy was asked to fetch Carol to watch the other kids while Lori went into labor and later volunteered himself to fill the generator to provide light for Alice in the infirmary, he encountered Dale along the way and asked for his help and upon realization that the gas tanks at hand were almost empty, the two of them go out into the prison parking lot to siphon gas out of the cars. During this time Dale was bitten in the leg by a zombie hiding under a car, only with the fortunate arrival of Andrea and the others from the National Guard Station raid did Dale survive, although Billy felt noticeably guilty long afterwards. The Best Defense In Hershel's vegetable garden, Otis and Billy Greene are talking about candy bars, which Axel and the other prisoners ate before they arrived. Billy says that they also need women. He asks if Carol would like to have him, and Otis thinks it's silly. Billy considers growing a mustache. This Sorrowful Life When Rick, Glenn, Michonne, Alice and Martinez return to the overrun prison courtyard, Billy is seen alive and well with his father. Billy looks after the children at the prison whilst Rick and Lori have a talk. The Calm Before When Lori goes into labor, Billy Greene is sent to keep the generator on. He brings Dale with him, and they realize there is hardly any gas left to power the generator. They leave the prison gates to siphon gas from the cars in the parking lot, and Dale is bitten in the leg by a zombie. Glenn's party arrives at the same time and brings Dale and Billy inside. Billy's wish to have sex with Carol comes true, as her deteriorating mental state leads her to have a one night stand with Billy. In this time, Billy reveals his age to be 18. Billy is scolded by his father for his actions. Made To Suffer Billy is seen sharpshooting from the watch tower, covering the work of Andrea and Glenn after they abandoned the Prison following the failed first attempt by The Governor and his men to take the prison for their own. Billy was able to kill many of the Woodbury invaders and used one of the grenades to great effect, blowing up a vehicle and putting several members of the assault force out of the fight. Hershel speculated to Rick that Billy wouldn't throw another at the off-chance that the Woodbury invaders threw it back at them. He was able to provide effective cover for the defenders on the ground for a short time, but was eventually forced from the watch tower after The Governor's tank ran into and destroyed the prison's fences. Death Killed By *The Governor (Caused) Billy was killed during the final stages of the assault on the prison by the Woodbury Army just moments after Patricia was killed. *Smitty He was shot through the head by Smitty whilst fleeing back to the Prison compound with Hershel. His death destroyed Hershel's will to live and he gave up the fight after witnessing Billy's death. Killed Victims This list shows the victims Billy has killed: *Charlie Banes *Rudy Warburton *Daniel *Teddy Grainger *Bart *Don Horgan *At least one unnamed Woodburian *Numerous counts of zombies. Relationships Billy was sometimes at odds with his father, clashing over his use of bad language and brash temper. At times their relationship was strained due to the traumatic deaths of their family members, but, they still loved each other deeply as father and son. After his death, Hershel lost the will to live. Maggie Greene These two aren't seen talking very often. They still loved each other, and were seen playing basketball together. After hearing of Billy and Hershel's deaths, Maggie was depressed for months and tried to take her own life. Lacey Greene Although Billy and Lacey were never seen interacting, it was assumed they had a basic brother-sister bond. This is shown when Billy was seen crying at Lacey's funeral. Arnold Greene Although Billy and Arnold were never seen interacting, it was assumed they had a basic brother bond. This is shown when Billy was seen crying at Arnold's funeral. Carol During their time at the prison, Billy and Carol were rarely seen interacting. Billy wound up having a one-night stand with Carol, as she decided to seduce him before she committed suicide. Upon learning of the circumstances of Carol's death, Billy feels guilt ridden and ashamed. Rick Grimes He and Rick weren't close, but, they seemed to respect one another and Billy accepts Rick as a leader and follows his instructions. Rick praises Billy for his accuracy with a gun, Rick also told Billy when to shoot from the towers, or when to use the grenades. Rick felt responsible for Billy's death and along with the other's that died at the prison. Patricia Billy seemed to like Patricia, he tried to reassure her that they were still friends when she became ostracized from the group and told her to come to Maggie and Glenn's wedding. When she died in the escape from the Prison, Billy was shocked and saddened. Otis Due to their living together during their stay at the Greene farm, Billy and Otis seemed to develop an Uncle-Nephew like relationship with Otis and Billy patrolling the fences as seen with them jokingly quipping each other about Billy's age. Dale These two weren't exactly close, but, got along well enough together as part of the group. Billy asked Dale to help him find some gas for the generator. While in the parking lot, Dale got bitten by a lurker and Billy ran away in fear, essentially leaving Dale to die. Dale survived and Billy felt tremendous guilt about leaving Dale behind. Alice Warren Billy had checked in with Alice to retrieve some aspirin for his constant migraines. The two seemed to have clicked and began a budding friendship that remained unfortunately unexplored, due to both of them dying during the prison assault.}} Appearances Trivia *Billy was born in 1985 since the outbreak started in 2003. *Robert Kirkman answered the question whether naming characters the same name, Billy, Eugene, Chris, Bruce, Jim, and Eric was an oversight, "It's not oversight at all. It's completely unrealistic for a group of people to meet at random and never encounter the same names."Robert Kirkman forum, Image Comics, (March 20, 2005) *In an attempt to get fuel from the parked cars in the parking lot for the generator, Dale is bitten and Billy flees. Robert Kirkman explained: "Billy ran out of fear--it all happened quickly. Dale doesn't hold it against him. Dale looks at Billy as a child, making a child's mistake."Issue 43, page 30, "Letter Hacks" *Billy was an excellent sharpshooter, namely the best besides Andrea. References Greene, Billy Greene, Billy Category:Novel Characters Greene, Billy Category:Teenagers Category:Greene Family Farm Greene, Billy Category:The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor Category:Comics Category:Greene Family Category:The Prison